Of Mice and a Teen Girl 2007
by thartman1956
Summary: Kim Possible's continuing exploits in 2007 as a wide receiver for the Disney All-Stars. Please read the work judge it for yourself, and review accordingly.
1. Fall Early Winter 2006 07

**OF MICE AND A TEEN GIRL-2007**

_Author's notes: In this installment of "Of Mice and a Teen Girl", Ron Stoppable joins the Disney All-Stars as a free safety. Why a free safety when he was portrayed as a running back for Middleton High School in the fourth season of Kim Possible? When we were putting the rosters together for the 2007 season, "Ill Suited" hadn't aired yet, so we had no idea that Ron was even going to play football on the show, let alone what position. And once the rosters are set, they are "locked and loaded" and can not be easily changed._

_All characters mentioned in this work are owned by their respective companies._

**FALL-EARLY WINTER 2006-07**

After the 2006 season ended, Kim Possible felt that while she had made great strides in 2006, she still wasn't totally satisfied with her performance. The Disney All-Stars hadn't made the playoffs, and that sort of left everyone feeling a little down. Mickey Mouse told Kim that she shouldn't worry about that; she worked hard and gave everything she had, and that's all that really mattered. He then gave Kim a "laundry list" of things she should work on during the off-season. Among them; crossing patterns, and "da bomb", which both felt was the weakest parts of her game. He also told her to expect more passes thrown her way in 2007. In 2006, the ratio of passes thrown to Minnie Mouse vs. Kim was about 70/30 or 65/35. In 2007, she should expect this ratio to be 60/40 or even 55/45. Mickey also told Kim to expect to get yelled at more. Mickey had treated Kim relatively gentle in 2006; she was new and wasn't expected to know it all. Mickey told her that when he yells at her not to take it personally; she would be an experienced player, and with that she would be asked to carry greater responsibilities. He put the yelling aspect this way: "I deplore profanity myself, and try not to use it in casual speech. But here, I may use it as a motivational tool. If I call you a name during practice, don't listen. But if I tell you _why_ you're such a name, _listen._ That way, you'll get better." Kim thanked Mickey for imparting his wisdom upon her, and returned to Middleton to begin preparations for 2007.

Upon her return to her hometown, Kim resumed attending Middleton High, now as a senior. She also resumed her "save-the-world" missions. Amid all that, "Team Possible" (as Kim and Ron Stoppable liked to call themselves) began having football practice sessions of their own every chance they got. Ron had joined the Middleton High football team as a running back that fall, so they would hold practices on weekends. Ron would play quarterback, and Kim would practice catching passes under various game simulations. Kim pushed herself hard during these sessions. Most of the passes Ron threw were in the five to twenty yard range which is about the average in the USCFL. When she was satisfied that the number of receptions vs. number of passes thrown were in an acceptable range, they worked on some other aspect of the passing game. If she felt she didn't perform to her expectations, she punished herself with wind sprints or pushups.

On weekends, the Middleton High football field was free, so the two held their Saturday and Sunday practices there. While Kim missed hanging out at the mall and shopping on Saturday afternoons, she felt that making herself better at football came first. The two "recruited" some of their friends to participate in these four-on-four workouts. (They couldn't use any of the high school varsity players as doing so could jeopardize their eligibility.) They got Monique and Tara to play on their side, and Kim's school nemesis Bonnie Rockwaller to play on "defense". An added bonus was that some of Kim's teammates made the trip to Middleton on weekends, namely Mulan, Snow White, and Cinderella, playing on Bonnie's team. (Upon checking with his coach, Ron's holding these practices with Kim would not jeopardize his eligibility, since they would be considered "pickup games", provided no USCFL coaches or administrative staff were present.) Mainly they worked on the four-on-four passing drill, emphasizing the crossing pattern that Mickey had suggested Kim work on. Bonnie played her defensive role to the hilt. Once, when Kim caught the ball, Bonnie came after her. Kim saw the "Shego maneuver" coming, stopped play, and told Bonnie not so nicely, "Don't even _think_ it, Bonnie." Bonnie learned her lesson, and toned down her aggressive defense after that. Another thing they worked on was "da bomb". Kim began making some long receptions, some over 80 yards. Her goal through all this wasn't to reach the point where she could "show up" Minnie Mouse on the playing field; she just wanted to be _equal_ to Minnie. To this end, Kim pushed and punished herself all that autumn. But was it enough?

The first test came on Thanksgiving Day as Disney traveled to Miami to play the Five's A Mob Currents. Even though this was just an exhibition game, it was treated just like a regular season contest. Mickey wanted to beat the Mob _so_ bad, after all the times the Mob knocked Disney out of the playoffs. This day, Disney came out smoking, and sent the Mob packing with their tails between their legs 39-14. Kim had a fairly good game, beating Minnie in receptions 9-8. Kim also had the edge on total yards receiving 78-73, though Minnie had more yards per reception, 9.1 to Kim's 8.6. Neither wide receiver scored any touchdowns, though. Kim, when asked about her performance, said, "Not as good as I would have liked, but it was acceptable." Translation: Kim had a little ways to go yet to be totally satisfied with her performance.

2006 became 2007, and with that came a major scare when on New Year's night, both Kim and Ron found their dreams invaded by the spirit of Verona Dempsey. Both teens thought they were either flipping out, or had been drugged, so Kim's mother had both undergo brain scans and drug tests, which came up negative or normal.


	2. Training Camp 2007

**TRAINING CAMP 2007**

Two weeks later, both reported to camp. Ron, this being his first time away from home for any extended period since that frightful summer at Camp Wannaweep during his childhood became a little homesick. But with Kim there, and the frantic pace of the drills, Ron quickly got over being away from home. And Kim had to struggle to keep a straight face when Steve Barkin gave Ron his standard issue "Nicest guy or worst nightmare" speech the first night of study table. And there was another humorous incident during the first days of camp that made Kim blush; twice on the second day of camp, Ron's pants fell down, revealing not his usual boxer shorts but his athletic supporter, a "jock strap" as it were. Ron stood there, embarrassed, holding his hands over his you-know-where, while everyone else whooped and hollered. Kim was not amused, and neither was Mickey. The Mouse went up to the red-faced teen and told him: "Either you need to put on weight, or you need a pair of suspenders. If that happened during a game, that'd be a five-yard penalty for illegal equipment. Keep your pants up, okay? I don't care if you have to tie a rope around your waist." Mickey strode off, leaving an embarrassed Ron amid a cacophony of laughter and catcalls. Ron must have done something, as he never had a problem with falling pants after that.

Another major distraction occurred during the overnight hours of February 2, when there was a tornado scare. As the players retired that night, a tornado watch was in effect for the Central Florida area. Nobody paid any mind because tornado watches were common in the area during the winter months, and usually nothing more came of them than harmless, if not noisy thunderstorms. About four in the morning, everyone was awakened by nearly continuous thunder and lightning, accompanied by blinding rain laced with hail and ferocious winds. The evacuation alarms sounded and everyone huddled in the corridors as the storm raged outside. Things really got scary when the power failed briefly. Someone said there was a tornado coming. If there was, it didn't hit the Disney complex, and the storm quickly passed, leaving ponds of water all over the grounds along with dime-sized hailstones. Then it was learned that a tornado struck Lake County, not far from the Disney complex, and many were killed. Practices were cancelled that day, as many of the Disney players, Kim and Ron included, volunteered their time and services to help in the disaster relief. Kim commented that she has seen Drakken cause some major destruction, but nothing like what was caused by this storm.


	3. The Great Movie Caper

**THE GREAT MOVIE CAPER**

Not long after that, came yet another distraction. Like the incidents before, it had little to do with football, but had ramifications on the practice field. And for the first time, Kim found herself in Mickey Mouse's doghouse. It began when Cinderella saw advertisements for a romantic comedy film that was going to play in Orlando for one night only, on a Wednesday night. Cinderella loved romantic movies, and was star struck by the male lead in this movie. She just _had_ to go see it. She got Snow White to go, and then they asked Kim if she wanted to go as well. Kim had seen the commercials as well, and loved to go, but there was just one problem, Mr. Barkin's study table.

"Oh, come on Kim," Snow White said. "You're a straight-A student. "You can afford to skip studying for one night, can't you?"

"Yeah, you're right," Kim replied. "It's not like I'm flunking or anything. My tutor, he'll scream and yell for a little bit, but he'll get over it. Hey, can Ron come with us as well?"

"Sure, why not?" Cinderella said. "I think he'll enjoy it, too." And so, the four left at 6:20 p.m. and went to see the movie Cinderella was raving about. Meanwhile, Mr. Barkin was already on his way to Kim's place to conduct study table. Uh-oh!

Since Ron joined the team, Kim and Ron alternated hosting study table. Ron had the sessions on Sunday, Tuesday, and Thursday evenings, while the study sessions were held at Kim's apartment on Monday and Wednesday evenings. At the stroke of 6:30, Barkin arrived at Kim's place and began pounding on her door. No answer. After about three minutes of this pounding, Barkin now fuming mad, went next door to Snow White's unit and began pounding on her door. Again, no answer. Next, he went to Cinderella's apartment, which was directly across the hall from Kim's and pounded on her door. Same result. Finally, he went to Pocahontas' unit and pounded on that door. This time, Pocahontas answered.

"Who are you?" Pocahontas asked the burly man standing in her doorway. "Oh, you must be Kim's tutor," she added.

"You've got that right," Mr. Barkin said in his surly tone of his. "Where's Possible? Don't she know she has study table right now?"

"She went to see a movie with Cinderella and Snow White," Pocahontas answered. "Kim tried to tell them that she had to study, but she also wanted to see that movie real bad, and I guess they talked her into going with them." The three asked Pocahontas if she wanted to go as well; she declined, since there was a program on Native Americans on PBS she wanted to watch.

"What?" Barkin exclaimed. "So Possible thinks that going to a _stupid_ movie is more important than her education. Not only that, but we have accomplices in truancy to boot. And I'll bet anything Stoppable went with them." He paused for a beat, then continued, "If you see Possible tonight, I want you to tell her that I'm going to lower the boom on both her and Stoppable. And while you're at it, you can tell those "princess" friends of hers that they're about to get de-throned!" With that, Barkin turned and stomped off, mumbling something about kids today. Pocahontas never gave Barkin's warning to Kim, as she retired for the night right after the PBS show ended.

The four were still talking about the movie the next morning when they reported to the locker room to dress for practice. But once they arrived at the facility, they were told that Mickey wanted to see them in his office immediately. When they arrived at Mickey's office, they found the Mouse standing in front of his desk, frowning, arms crossed in front of him. Steve Barkin was there as well. Mickey told the four to have a seat. While Mickey didn't raise his voice, they could tell that he was furious with them.

"Mr. Barkin here tells me that you two cut study table last night," Mickey began. He then glanced at Cinderella and Snow White and continued, "And he goes on to tell me that Cinderella and Snow White talked you in to doing this. Is this true, Kim?"

"Y-yes, sir, it's true," Kim said, ashamed. "There was indeed this movie that we wanted to see so bad, this 'chick flick'…"

"WHAT!" Barkin bellowed. "My God, Mouse, it's worse than I thought! Are you telling us you ditched study table just to go see a _dirty_ movie?"

Kim had to laugh at Mr. Barkin's wild accusation. "Oh, it wasn't a dirty movie," she replied. "So _not_ the nudity. I assure you, nobody took their clothes off in that film. You see, 'chick flick' means a movie that appeals to women."

"What movie did you go see?" Mickey asked. Kim then noticed yesterday's newspaper on Mickey's desk, and asked if she could see the movie listings. Mickey nodded his approval, and Kim found the listing of the film in question and showed it to him.

"Hmmm," Mickey pondered. "Minnie would have liked to go see that movie, but she was so tired after yesterdays' practice, and I had to work on today's practice plan. But that's neither here nor there. The fact remains that you two went to that film when you should have been studying." He then paused, then looked at both Cinderella and Snow White and asked, "Is it true that you two talked Kim into cutting study table so she could accompany you to this movie?"

"Yes, sir," Cinderella said, herself ashamed.

"I see," Mickey answered. "You know, what you do outside of practice is your business. Still, you shouldn't have talked Kim and Ron into going to that movie with you when you knew they had to study. Look, it's about time for practice. You four go get dressed now. We'll deal with this after practice." The four left Mickey's office dreading what was to come.

When practice ended that morning, Mickey dismissed everyone by yelling, "Okay, that's it! Everybody hit the showers! Except Kim, Ron, Cinderella, and Snow White, you four come see me." When the four reported to the Mouse, he said simply, "Follow me," and marched them to the other end of the field where Mr. Barkin was waiting for them. Once there, he said, "Okay, Steve, they're all yours," then turned on his heel and left.

"Well, well, well, if it ain't the 'Truancy Club,'" Barkin began sarcastically. He then glared at Cinderella and Snow White. "Since you two broads are apparently the 'ringleaders' of this conspiracy against education, you can drop and give me fifty pushups."

"Hey, we're not…" Snow White protested.

"SILENCE!" Barkin yelled. "Just for talking back, you two broads can now drop and give me a _hundred_ pushups! Get going!"

"Yes, sir," Cinderella said sourly, as both princesses dropped to the ground to do their pushups. It was indeed a sight to behold. Here were two of the majestic, world famous Disney Princesses, role model to young girls everywhere, not only being called common broads, but also treated like raw recruits at a Marine Corps boot camp. Kim Possible stood there flabbergasted, watching this unbelievable sight. She couldn't believe that Mr. Barkin could treat such royalty that way. But then again, this was _Steve Barkin._ And within seconds, he turned his wrath upon both her and Ron.

"As for you two truants," Mr. Barkin barked, "you can give me five laps around the perimeter of this field." Kim and Ron stood there for a few seconds, still watching the princesses doing their pushups.

"What are you waiting for, an act of Congress? Let's GO!" Barkin commanded loudly.

"Yes, sir," Kim said bitterly as they began their five lap run. Barkin stood near the two princesses and made sure they completed their pushups. Every now and then he glanced at Kim and Ron doing their laps. Once, when he noticed both had slowed to a trot, he exploded at them: "Hey! I want to see some speed out of you two! My ninety-five year old _grandmother_ can run faster than that! Move it! Move it! Move it! Let's go!" Finally the princesses finished their pushups. Barkin dismissed them by saying simply, "Get out of here, and go take a shower." Moments later, Kim and Ron completed their run, their tongues literally hanging out from exhaustion. Barkin dismissed them by saying, "Maybe this will teach you to put a stupid movie ahead of your studies. Now get out of here and go take a shower." But even that wasn't the end of it.

In the shower, Cinderella tried to apologize to Kim for what had happened. "Hey, don't worry about it. It was all my fault for not simply saying no. I should be apologizing to you." Kim and the princesses then agreed to drop the subject and put the incident behind them. Even so, Kim still couldn't believe the way Barkin had treated them.

That night, Barkin showed up at Ron's apartment for the study session. The first thing he told the two was: "I hope you two don't have anything you want to watch on TV tonight because we're going straight through to 9:30. We have a lot of make up work to do." And thus began a marathon study table that went to 9:30 just as Barkin had promised. He did allow a ten-minute break at around eight o'clock so Kim and Ron could get up and stretch their legs. About an hour later, while Barkin was lecturing the kids on the Gladsen Purchase, he noticed that Kim had nodded off. "Wake up, Sleeping Beauty," he said, and brought his fist down on Ron's dining table. BAM!

"Whatis?" Kim yawned. Then Barkin noticed Wade staring at the sight through Kim's laptop monitor. "What're you looking at pipsqueak?" Barkin demanded.

"Uh, nothing," Wade replied, and then excused himself to go get a soda. Turning back to Kim, Barkin said, "You fell asleep, that's what."

"What'd you expect?" Kim shot back. "We had two grueling practices today, and on top of that, we had to run those stupid laps of yours!" It felt good for Kim to argue back at Barkin for a change. Still she feared that he might get really angry. Instead, she was surprised when Barkin responded not with anger, but with more sarcasm.

"Well, you should have thought of that before you ditched study table last night to go to that movie," he told her. "Now _please_ try to stay awake. We still need to talk about the Gladsen Purchase,_ if _you can manage to stay awake for another half-hour."

The next morning after practice, Kim went to Mickey's office for another meeting. She told him, that while her and Ron deserved what they got, she felt that Mr. Barkin was a little harsh on Cinderella and Snow White.

"I'm sorry that Barkin was a little rough on those two," Mickey told her, "but they did talk you into doing something you shouldn't have done. We here at Disney take education very seriously. In fact the Disney Company awards prizes every year to America's top teachers. I remind you that when we signed you to this team I promised your parents that you continue to receive an education. That was also in the contract you signed. I made the same promise to Ron Stoppable's parents, and that was in the contract he signed with us. Do you understand what I'm saying?"

"Yes, sir," Kim answered.

"I understand you and Ron are going to graduate from high school this year," Mickey continued. "I also understand you're even a candidate for valedictorian of your class. Nothing would make me happier than to have you walk upon that stage in cap and gown to receive your diploma. We'll happily let you miss practice that week, even miss a game if necessary, just so you can participate in commencement exercises with your graduating class. I really don't want you to miss this chance, Kim, and that's why Mr. Barkin and me were so rough on you four. And let me give you a friendly warning here; if something like this ever happens again, I will, without hesitation, cut you from this team and send you home. Do you understand me, Kim?"

"Yes, sir," Kim said again.

"Good," Mickey replied. "Like the old TV commercial goes, 'A mind is a terrible thing to waste.' And I don't want to see you waste yours." Kim


	4. Late Pre Season 2007

**LATE PRE-SEASON 2007**

The following Monday morning, Mickey called a meeting with his top four offensive players. Kim attended along with fellow wide receiver Minnie, running back Buzz Lightyear, and tight-end Christopher Robin.

"You four are going to carry the offensive load equally this season," Mickey began. "We're going to have a strong defense, but that doesn't mean squat if we don't put points on the board ourselves. We're going to use a balanced offensive attack here, ladies and gentlemen. That means we'll use the run as well as the pass. Buzz, you know what do. When you get the ball, bulldoze your way through the line and run like hell.

"My philosophy on the passing game is this; the defense can't guard one receiver without leaving the other one open. Minnie, Kim, your jobs will be to take some of the defensive heat off the other one. I think the reason Minnie had such a great year receiving last year was due to the fact that we had Kim. When we had Max, we couldn't do that. Now we can. Kim, just because you're out there taking the heat off Minnie doesn't mean you're going to be standing around with nothing to do. We're going to make you a receiving threat as well. If Minnie is covered, I'm coming to you with the ball. Expect more passes coming your way. I'm hoping that it can get to the point where Minnie can start taking some of the defensive heat off you. Also ladies, we're going to use a crossing pattern more this season. I'm hoping that will help confuse pass defenses.

"Christopher, you're going be my receiver of last resort. If Minnie and Kim are both covered, you'll be getting an air mail delivery, especially on short-yardage situations. Everybody understand what I'm saying here?"

"YES, SIR!" they all shouted with enthusiasm.

"Excellent," Mickey said. "Let's get started in that direction right now."

Practices became intense after Mickey's meeting. They played a lot of four-on-four scrimmages. The receivers worked a lot on the passing patterns that Mickey spoke of. Kim had a lot of "bombs" thrown at her, and began catching many 50 to 60 yard strikes. These scrimmages took on a new urgency when it was learned that as part of the relief effort following the February 2 tornado disaster in Central Florida, a special exhibition game was scheduled. This special game would pit the Disney All-Stars against the Five's A Mob Legends, quarterbacked by none other than Daphne Blake. Kim was thrilled to hear the news. The two redheads had met several times since Kim joined Disney and had become friends. In fact, the two teased other whenever they met, saying to the other, "I look forward to playing against you, just so I can kick your butt!" The media had picked up on this, calling it "The Battle of the Redheads", even though Kim was "just" a wide receiver, while Daphne was a quarterback. As an added bonus, prior to the Disney-Mob game, the seniors of Middleton High and Coolsville High would play each other in a special high school football game. In the run-up to these games, Kim often began wearing her blue, red, and gold Middleton High cheerleader uniform around her housing unit. She worked harder in practices than she ever had before. She desperately wanted to fulfill her promise to herself: "Daphne Blake may be a friend, but I am going to kick her butt!"

However this meeting between the redheads almost didn't come to pass. Daphne was severely injured earlier that winter in a confrontation with a resurrected Verona Dimpsey. Then after Daphne recovered, she was suspended for one game as a result of an earlier altercation between her and the Smurfette. The redhead battle was on again after the Commissioner ruled that Daphne could serve her suspension during the Mob Legend's regular season opening game. Kim was happy and relieved to hear this news.

In the run-up to the co-called "Tornado Bowl", Kim noticed that she was beginning to get yelled at more by Mickey. In fact, she was thrown out of practice _three_ times between the announcement of the game and game day itself. The first time Mickey booted her came when he felt she wasn't executing the crossing pattern properly.

"Hey!" Mickey yelled. "If you play like that on Friday, Kim, we're going to get the crap beat out of us. You go take a shower, and don't come back until you're ready to get your head into the game!" Kim left for the locker room, head down and shoulders hunched. However, when a player is thrown out of practice, it didn't mean that he/she could simply take a shower and go home; he/she was to sit in the locker room and wait. Sure enough, three minutes after Kim got booted, Mickey sent a female messenger in to bring her back.

"Look, Kim," Mickey told her calmly along the sideline, hand on her shoulder. "I know you want to beat the stockings off the Blake girl real bad, and I want to help you do that. But you mustn't get complacent and get a fat head. To beat her, you need to not only out play her, you also need to _out think_ her. In order to do that, you must work hard every day. We all do. Now, let's go." Kim Possible wasn't the only one thrown out that day, Shego, Buzz, and even _Minnie_ of all "people" got booted, but all three quickly returned.

Later, Mulan told Kim that being kicked out of practice was practically a complement from Mickey. "If Mickey feels you can handle it, he'll do that. Plus, he just wants you to treat this as just another game, and not get caught up in all the hype." Indeed, this was the first game in over a decade where Mickey wasn't getting top billing. When Jessica Rabbit joined the Disney team in the early 1990's, there were advertising posters urging people to come see "The Red Hottest Star in Football". And in recent days, another poster had appeared around the area. This one (titled "Battle of the Redheads") depicted Kim (carrying the ball) and Daphne charging at each other head on while Mickey was in the background, hands over his eyes, a word balloon had him saying, "I can't watch!" The message here, Mulan told Kim, was that while Mickey liked Kim and wanted her to succeed, he wasn't going to play favorites. The fact that he had thrown out Buzz and even Minnie was proof of this. Kim never took the chewing outs or the kick outs personally; she simply took it all in stride, learned from her mistakes, and moved on from there. (It should be pointed out here that Mickey Mouse is too laid back a guy to engage in profanity laced screaming fits like those of legendary coaches Vince Lombardi or Bob Knight. Mickey's tirades are more like those depicted in classic Disney shorts where he catches Pluto doing some misdeed.)

Game day arrived, and Kim was feeling even more wound up than she did before her first game in a Disney uniform. She was really going to play against the greatest quarterback in the League; the one and only Daphne Blake. She hardly touched her spaghetti, pancakes, and what not at the pre-game meal. She not only wanted to kick Daphne's butt; she also wanted to avoid disappointing Mickey or herself. They had monitors set up in both the dining room and in the locker room where the players could watch the Middleton vs. Coolsville high school football game during the pre-game routines. (Nearly everyone was rooting for Middleton.) Finally the high school game ended and it was time to take the field.

Kim Possible found yet another surprise waiting for her waiting for her on the field after the players' introductions. Mickey Mouse was at the 50-yard line talking to the head referee, Daphne Blake, and the Legends' coach Lisa Carlson. Every now and then, Kim noticed Daphne and Mickey looking in her direction, nodding. Then he left the midfield conference and strode right over to Kim. "Great," Kim thought, "what have I done now?" Then the Mouse grabbed one of Kim's arms and started dragging her towards where Daphne was standing. "What's the sitch?" she asked, surprised.

"You're going to call the coin toss for us tonight," Mickey said grinning.

"Huh?" Kim said, totally confused. "I thought that honor went to the team captain, which I am _so_ not."

"Oh, _contraire_," Mickey replied. "For tonight, I'm designating you honorary team captain. Hey, you've earned it. Come on, your friend's waiting for you." And so, Kim Possible shook hands with Daphne Blake, wishing each other good luck. As things turned out, Disney _did_ kick Daphne's butt, but not quite the way Kim had anticipated. Blake threw _seven_ interceptions in that game, before being knocked out of the game with an injury. Mickey didn't fare much better; he gave up five interceptions himself. The passing attack wasn't much of an attack at all as both Kim and Minnie found themselves smothered in defenders. Kim was lucky to have caught any passes against such a ferocious defense. It was the Disney defense, as well as the rushing of Buzz Lightyear and Woody that led the Disney team to victory, 27-18. Kim had also committed a face mask penalty for which Mickey jumped all over her about: "What were you thinking on that facemask call, Kim?" Mickey, while praising Ron for his interception, also expressed his displeasure on a pass interference call Ron had committed. "What in the world were you doing on that interference play, Ron? A damned fourth-grader would know better than to make that play." Finally, Mickey dismissed his team, not entirely happy, but satisfied that he had gotten a victory.

The next morning, Mickey called a meeting with his receiving corps and told them: "Do you know you've played eight quarters of football and haven't scored a single touchdown? Not one. You can't rely on our defense and Buzz's rushing to carry the entire load. You are going to have to step up to the plate and start contributing here. _I want to start seeing some touchdowns out of you people."_


	5. Early Struggles

**THE REGULAR SEASON BEGINS-EARLY STRUGGLES**

On March 11, the Disney All-Stars traveled to Atlanta to open the regular season against their archrivals, the Hanna-Barbera All-Stars. It was a bittersweet day for HB as they not only retired Velma Dinkley's number, but they held a remembrance for recently deceased Joseph Barbera and Iwao Tokamoto as well. Mickey was knocked out of the game early in the first quarter and was replaced by Cinderella. Kim Possible got her first touchdown of the season, but that was all the receiving corps had to cheer about all day. Cinderella threw five interceptions that day. Despite this, Disney carried a lead into the fourth quarter, but a costly pass interference call against Timon let HB score the go ahead touchdown. HB held the Disney offense in check the rest of the way, and won the game 50-38.

The next day, Mickey Mouse met with the team, and his mood was as sore as his body. He wasn't all that hard on Minnie or Kim, but he vented his frustration on the rest of the team. "Maybe I should get rid of _all_ you people and replace you with the casts of 'Lost', 'Desperate Housewives', and 'Grey's Anatomy'!" he railed. "Cinderella, I couldn't believe you kept throwing into double and triple coverage all day. You should have handed off more. And Timon, I can't believe how _stupid_ that play was!" referring to that pass interference call that cost Disney the game, forgetting the fact that Timon had won the Atlantic Conference Defensive Player of the Week. "We told you and told you about avoiding that kind of thing, and what'd you go do? Boys and girls, I can't tell you what a long season you're in for if you keep playing like you did in the fourth quarter yesterday. You all better think about that."

Later, Mickey asked Kim to take him for a spin in her new wheels, a 2007 Roth SL (which resembles a Volkswagen New Beetle), a car she sometimes uses on her missions. Minnie tagged along as well. "Girls, I know you both try real hard," Mickey said as Kim drove through the Central Florida countryside. "But I couldn't believe the ferocious coverage you two faced. I thought one would take the pressure off the other. I'm seeing they're ganging up on both of you. I just simply can't explain it.

"Yeah," Minnie said. "This year, I've faced some of the harshest pass coverage I've _ever_ faced. I thought having Kim would take the pressure off me, but apparently it hasn't. And I've noticed they're ganging up on her just as bad as they are on me. I know it's only one game, but I hate to think what this season would be like if this continues."

"I noticed one thing yesterday," Kim replied. "It seemed to me like Cinderella was confused as to her play selection. There were times where she would have better off if she handed off to Buzz or Woody than throwing to one of us. Several times, she threw passes to me I wasn't even expecting. I'm surprised she wasn't intercepted any more than she was." Minnie nodded in agreement.

"Well, I'm open to suggestions," Mickey said.

"For one thing," Minnie responded, "I'd have Cinderella practice more with us. I'd keep her loose and conditioned in case she has to take over for you. She does need the experience."

"My thoughts exactly," Kim replied. "Another thing is I'd have us practice more catching the ball in heavy coverage. I know we drilled a lot this season on that, yet I feel there's still room for improvement in that area. The only other thing I can think of is to wear my new battle suit, but that'd be against the rules"

"Well, by gum, that's exactly what we're going to do," Mickey said. "Kim, take us back to the Disney complex." Kim complied, taking the opportunity to "blow the carbon" out of the Roth SL, pushing the little car to speeds approaching 150 mph. Mickey seemed to be thrilled by the high-speed ride, but Minnie later remarked that she had been never so scared in her life.

The next day, Mickey implemented the girls' suggestions. Mickey and Cinderella alternated playing QB and threw passes to his wide receivers. He assigned Snow White, Timon, and Quasimodo to cover Minnie, and had Kim Possible's old friends Dr. Drakken, Shego, and Ron Stoppable cover her. The sessions were brutal. Several times Mickey threw Cinderella, Minnie, and Kim out of practice, marched them to the corner of the field, and chewed them out. This went on all week. Kim later told Mulan that there were times she thought Mickey was Steve Barkin wearing a Mickey Mouse costume; he was so rough on them.

The second week found Disney hosting the Masters of Power. Kim had just shy of a hundred yards receiving, but Mickey again got knocked out early in the game and was replaced by Cinderella. The "Mouse" team fell behind and despite a late rally could never catch up, and lost 37-23.


	6. On A Roll

**ON A ROLL**

Week 3 was better. Mickey Mouse avoided getting injured, and with Buzz Lightyear rushing for 206 yards and one touchdown, and Kim receiving for 55 yards and a touchdown of her own, Disney soundly defeated the Five's A Mob Currents 50-27. While Kim was less than satisfied that she only got 55 yards receiving, she took heart from the fact that she was the only Disney wide receiver to score any touchdowns.

In Week 4, the Disney receiving corps finally woke up, leading Disney to a 68-27 walloping of the Walter Lantz All-Stars. Kim Possible exploded for 184 yards and three touchdowns, the first time she scored multiple touchdowns in a game. She also earned game MVP, the first time so honored. Minnie Mouse also got her first touchdown of the season. Ron Stoppable also got into the act, scoring a defensive touchdown of his own. Kim was a little worried going into this game, because one of the Lantz players was Oswald the Lucky Rabbit, who would be coming to Disney in 2008. Oswald was one of Lantz's wide receivers, so Kim worried that in 2008, Oswald could be taking her starting job. Some wondered if Kim exploded for all those yards and touchdowns just to show Oswald up, though that wasn't her intention. (Oswald the Lucky Rabbit was created by Walt Disney in 1927, but would up in the Lantz stable as a result of a double-cross by Charles Mintz, Walt's distributor at the time. Then in 2005, NBC wanted longtime ABC/ESPN sports commentator Al Michaels for NBC's new Sunday Night Football telecasts. Disney owns ABC/ESPN and NBC is part of General Electric's NBC-Universal, which just so happens to own the Walter Lantz cartoon library. Disney wanted something from NBC in return for Michaels, so that's why Oswald would be joining Disney in 2008.) After the game, Mickey had Kim take him for another spin in her Roth SL (This time, Kim drove at normal highway speeds.). As they drove, Mickey explained to Kim not to worry about Oswald; hardly anyone had even _heard_ of Oswald before the ESPN-NBC trade. In the USCFL, starting positions are based as just much as star power as athletic ability. Kim Possible is the #1 show on the Disney Channel. "I have no plans to drop you from the starting line-up," Mickey told her. "You're too valuable a player for us." He also told Kim to enjoy her performance for a little bit, then to quickly forget about it. "The next opponent will just come at you all that much harder," Mickey said. "You've got a target on you now. Every defensive player you face will try to make a name for him or herself by trying to shut you down."

In the following two weeks, Disney knocked off two giants to go 4-2 on the season. First, they handed Star Trek its first defeat of the year, upsetting the sci-fi icon 25-21, at _their_ place, no less. KP had only 55 receiving yards in that game, but was happy to have helped get the victory. The next week, they took out defending USCFL champs, the Smurfs 41-31. Kim had 97 yards receiving in that game with one touchdown, while Minnie had 88 yards but no touchdowns. "Look out world," Kim thought after the game. "I have SO arrived!"


	7. Mid Season Blues

**MID SEASON BLUES**

The following Friday night brought the Warner Bros. All-Stars to Epcot Stadium. If you'd ask Mickey Mouse what team he'd want to beat the most, he would tell you that WB would top the list, even more than Hanna-Barbera. However, yet another major distraction occurred during the week of preparations for this game. A distraught male college student at Virginia Tech University shot and killed a man and a woman at a dorm on that campus, stopped long enough to mail a hate-filled manifesto to NBC News, then walked into a classroom building and resumed his shooting spree. Scores of people were shot in that building and 30 more were killed before the student turned the gun on himself. The massacre stunned the nation and the world, bringing back memories of Columbine. Beginning with the Disney-Warner game, every contest that weekend was preceded by a moment of silence and other forms of remembrances for the Virginia Tech victims.

The game itself was bittersweet, the Virginia Tech tragedy not withstanding. Kim Possible had the best game of her career with 234 yards receiving and two touchdowns. Disney jumped to an early 17-10 lead, and it appeared there was a blowout in the making. Only someone forgot to tell Warner Bros. WB reeled off 41 second-quarter points to lead 51-20 at the half. Daffy Duck was the key to the WB attack, rushing for over 170 yards. They also stopped the Disney ground game, holding Buzz Lightyear to just 85 yards in 29 attempts. WB appeared to have this game in the bag. Only this time, someone forgot to tell Disney. The "Mouse" team rallied, headlined by two fumbles by WB free safety Buster Bunny on two straight kickoff returns, which let Disney close to within nine points. However it was too little too late, as WB came away with the victory 57-45. At the end of the game, Bugs Bunny was overheard to say with a sheepish grin on his face, "Ain't I a stinker?"

Mickey might have gone off after such a heart breaking loss. Maybe his heart wasn't in it, given the physically draining play, and the shock resulting from the Virginia Tech tragedy. Given the amazing comeback effort, Mickey expressed disappointment about not coming away with a victory, but was calm in his summarization of the game. He praised Kim Possible for her efforts, and even apologized for that screen pass to her that resulted in a five-yard loss. (WB's 41 point scoring spree occurred after that play.) The defense gave a good effort, he felt, but tonight, it wasn't enough. "We had a golden opportunity here tonight, and we just simply kicked it away," he told his players. "That happens sometimes. Let's learn from our mistakes, put the game behind us, and move on from there."

Mickey was worried about the next opponent, and with good reason. The next game was against She-Ra and the Masters of Power at their place. She-Ra's team had completely fallen apart since first playing Disney in Week 2. It appeared that the Masters of Powers couldn't even beat a team made up completely of fairies, wooden puppets, and naked mole rats. Mickey was afraid that his team wouldn't play with the same intensity against a "lesser" opponent, thus allowing She-Ra & Company to pull an upset. (And there were some in and around Richmond who thought She-Ra couldn't even punch herself out of a paper bag, the way her team was playing!) To prevent this, Mickey ran his team into the ground during practices that week. Every tough drill, every strenuous conditioning exercise were part of the practice plan. Mickey threw players out of practice right and left. He was going to get a victory at Richmond if it was the last thing he did. "We lost to a stinker rabbit last week, " Mickey told his team. "I'll be _damned_ if we lose to a helpless damsel! You all better think about that."

As things turned out, Mickey didn't lose to a helpless damsel, since She-Ra had been benched by her coaches, an event that caused raised eyebrows nationwide. Instead, he lost to her _brother _52-16, which raised even more eyebrows. The Masters of Power completely dominated the game, led by He-Man who passed for 234 yards and two touchdowns. The Masters of Power limited Mickey Mouse to only 209 yards passing, 9 interceptions and no touchdowns. Kim had a good game, with 8 catches, which resulted in 108 yards, but no touchdowns. Minnie had 67 yards receiving, but didn't have any touchdowns either. Buzz Lightyear rushed for 119 yards on 33 carries, but even he failed to set foot in the end zone.

Mickey was beside himself at the post-game meeting. "I would have bet the farm that this would happen," he began his post-game comments. He then restated his threat to replace everyone with the casts of Desperate Housewives, and Grey's Anatomy. There was no holding back this time; he launched into a profanity-laced fit of screaming and yelling. _Everyone_ was guilty of one thing or another. He was so angry at one point he kicked a garbage can across the room in frustration. His final words seemed to echo like thunder: "If we lose to _another_ helpless damsel, I might as well quit and never come back." Those words genuinely scared everyone.

Everyone dreaded what was to come. Monday morning, Mickey worked his team into the ground, but he wasn't wild and screaming like he was following Saturday's game. He was like: "We have now lost two straight, and there's not a thing we can do about it. All we can do is play better, and concentrate on getting ourselves into the playoffs."

The next day, Kim Possible found herself in the center of another distracting incident. Maybe it was the resulting hangover from Saturday's stunning upset. Maybe it was the way the moon and stars were aligned. Whatever the cause, like the incidents before, it began innocently enough, but resulted in the teen finding herself on the hot seat. During a break in the Tuesday morning practice, Goofy was regaling Donald Duck, Daisy Duck, and Donald's nephews, Hewey, Dewey, and Louie about a short cartoon Goofy did in the late 1940's, "How to Play Football." Goofy was dropping back as if to catch a pass in his own "goofy" way, when he accidentally bumped Shego. "Sorry," Goofy apologized.

"Why don't you watch where you're going, you clumsy oaf?" Shego snorted.

"Hey, I said I was sorry," Goofy responded. "Jeez!"

Shego thought about zapping Goofy right then and there. She even set her hands to glowing (Uh-oh!), but thought better of it. (Whew!) "Why waste my energy zapping a dingus like that," she thought. Then she noticed Donald rolling on the ground in laughter. "What's so funny, ducky?" she demanded.

Donald Duck took one look at Shego and said in between laughing spasms, "You."

"Is that so?" Shego snarled. "Well, by all means, laugh it up, funny ducky!" and zapped Donald with her green energy bolt. Donald let out a cry and fell to the turf motionless.

"Donald!" Daisy shrieked. She run over to where Donald had fallen, glared at Shego, and spat: "Shego, you _bitch!"_

"I am, ain't I," Shego said. "One of my many virtues, I assure you."

Kim was nearby, working with Aladdin's girlfriend Jasmine on the proper blocking of a pass play when she heard the commotion, and watched in horror as Shego zapped Donald. Kim leaped high, did a mid-air summersault, and landed on her feet between Daisy and Shego, who was preparing to zap the female duck.

"Shego, are you nuts?" Kim exclaimed. "Why did you do that for?"

"Well, if it isn't 'goody two-shoes' Kimmie," Shego said. "Standing up for the rights of lowly mallards now, are we?"

"I stand up to protect _all_ beings from the likes of _you_," Kim replied. "Why can't you pick on someone your own size? If you want to fight, Shego, you can fight me!"

"You got it, Kimmie!" Shego snarled.

"Bring it on!" Kim shot back, and the two began trading punches, kicks, and began wrestling with each other. The two would roll around on the ground fighting, then one would break away, the other giving chase. Kim raced for a nearby goal post and leaped onto the crossbar. Shego chopped it down with her glowing hand, and Kim jumped off it as it fell in such a way to avoid injuring herself. The two continued chasing each other up and down the field. Drakken was watching this whole commotion with glee, chanting, "Fight! Fight! Fight! Go, Shego, go!" At one point, Shego called out to her adversary, "Here! Duff Killigan wanted you to have this!" and threw a golf ball at Kim's feet. Not just any golf ball, mind you, but one of Duff's exploding golf balls. Kim was able to evade the explosion, as well as Shego's energy blasts. Moments later, Jasmine, seeing her friend in trouble, raced over to help. Shego saw the Disney Princess coming, and without breaking stride, zapped Jasmine, and she fell to the ground.

"Now I'm _really_ mad, Shego!" Kim called after her adversary. "You'd better run and hide, 'cause I'm _so_ gonna kick your ass!"

"I'd love to see you try!" Shego taunted. The two wrestled on the ground yet again, punching and kicking each other, before Kim escaped, Shego in hot pursuit. As she ran downfield, she noticed Mulan standing near the goal line. She was gesturing with her hands like, "Lead her this way, Kim. I'll try to get her off your back for you." Kim did just that. She raced past Mulan and leaped onto that goal post's crossbar, while Mulan confronted Shego. Kim, watching from atop the crossbar was thinking, "Try to get her back turned towards me, Mulan." And when Mulan did manage to get Shego's back facing Kim, the redhead jumped off the crossbar, and caught Shego in the back of the head with a "flying mare". Shego collapsed to the ground, moaning. Everyone was congratulating Kim for being able to stand up to Shego like that. By now Donald Duck had recovered from Shego's blast, and so had Jasmine. Mickey now came racing up to where Shego had fallen. He took one look at the moaning woman, and said simply, "Get her out of here."

After things settled down, Mickey had all the involved parties in his office, telling their side of what had happened. After getting their stories, he had Shego tell her version of how the incident went down. Shego told Mickey that it was _Kim Possible_ that had initiated the aggression, and should be suspended because of that!

"Kimmie got together with Goofy and Donald and planned this," Shego began. "Kimmie hadn't had any missions in a while, and was itching for a fight, so she arranged for Goofy to bump me on purpose and for Donald to laugh at me, knowing I'd zap one of them. Then Kimmie would intervene, and provoke me into fighting her. And when she did intervene, she was taunting me with 'Why don't you fight me, Shego!' and 'I'm gonna kick your ass!' In fact, it was _her_ who delivered the first blow. Then she went after me. I was merely defending myself, Mickey."

"Well, then, why did you zap Jasmine for?" Mickey asked.

"Jasmine and Mulan were in on it, too," Shego continued. "Kimmie knew she couldn't take me on by herself, so she arranged to have her friends gang up on me and the three of them were going to collectively kick my ass. I didn't count on Kimmie jumping off that goal post and kicking me in the head. I should have seen that coming."

Mickey wasn't buying Shego's story. "Yeah, right," he said. "From what I've seen and heard here today, I believe that Goofy did bump you, but it was purely an accident. I did tell Donald that he needs to watch what he says and does in front of you, but you still had absolutely no excuse for zapping him. As for Kim going after you, I can find no fault in what she did. There's no telling how many more players you would have zapped if you continued to run amok like that." Mickey paused for a moment, then continued, "Look, you're not going to get kicked off this team or suspended. But you are going to get a reprimand, and placed on 'probationary status' for the rest of the season. You will also have to pay for the ruined goal post as well as the repairs to the field. And if we have another incident with you, you _will_ be gone, which means you'd go straight back to prison." He paused again then added, "Now, are we going to have anymore trouble from you?"

"No, sir," Shego answered."

"Good," Mickey said. "Dismissed." As Shego left the office, he sighed and muttered to himself: "If I don't have enough problems already!"

That Friday night brought a return engagement of the Five's A Mob Legends to Epcot Stadium. Again, the same "Battle of the Redheads" poster appeared in and around Orlando. Once again, Mickey named Kim honorary captain of the team, and had her call the pre-game coin toss. But Friday afternoon, Kim had a surprise visitor in her unit, Daphne Blake. Again Kim teased Daphne with, "I'm going to kick your butt!" But the response Kim received surprised even her.

"You probably will," Daphne said with a resigned sigh. "And I am going to tell you something here in complete and absolute confidence; I'm thinking of retiring after this season."

"You?" Kim exclaimed, astonished. "What's the sitch?"

"I simply don't want to go out on that field anymore," Daphne replied. "After Verona pummeled me this past winter, my performance hasn't been what it was before. I'm not getting any younger, you know. My bones ache, especially when it rains. I go out there, and by the third quarter, I become extremely fatigued. I am literally running on fumes. I just want to curl up in a corner and sleep for eighteen hours, and yet I have to go out there and play another fifteen minutes of football. The doctors say that the collapsed lung I suffered when Verona beat me to within an inch of my life reduced my lung capacity, resulting in the fatigue. Every time we get the ball late in the game, I'm like, 'I have to go out there and bang again?' Then I heard about what happened to Amy Wong, and I'm like, 'That could have been me!' I don't know Kim, I don't know how much longer I can bring myself to do this."

"You know, Kimberly, I envy you," Daphne continued. "You see, my creators, Bill Hanna, Joe Barbera, and Iwao Tokamoto made me a 'damsel in distress' in the beginning. I was just like Penelope Pitstop, only with red hair. I was always falling through trap doors. I was getting kidnapped all the time. My friends were always calling me 'Danger Prone Daphne'. Once, when we were chasing a prehistoric caveman who had supposedly came 'back to life', I leaned over a railing too far, causing me and my friends to fall into a net intended to trap the caveman. That same year in San Francisco, some Chinese thugs captured me after I bought an ancient mask in a curio shop, stuffed me in the trunk of a car, and took me to an ancient temple to lure my friends into a trap. Another time, a 'steamin' demon' took me prisoner and stuffed me into a piano in old Seattle. I could tell you many more stories like that. For the life of me, I could never understand why they made me that way.

"You, Kim, are everything I ever wanted to be. Your creators, Bob Schooley, Mark McCorkle, and Steve Loter endowed you with very special traits. You're an ordinary girl, but an ordinary girl that can do just about everything. You're a straight-A student. You're head cheerleader at your school. You save the world on a regular basis. You're endowed with special athletic and acrobatic abilities that get you out of every scrape you've ever been in. Your friend, Wade, feeds you valuable information that helps you defeat your foes. You have a sidekick and friend that cares very much about you, and has since become your boyfriend. I'm an only child, you know. I live in the lap of luxury, but I'm really very poor because I've never had any brothers or sisters to talk to. You have two very bright younger brothers to keep you company."

"You mean the 'tweebs'?" Kim said, somewhat surprised. "Pulleeasseee!"

"I wouldn't 'diss' those tweebs too much," Daphne told her friend. "Those tweebs of yours literally took a shell of a car and rebuilt it into that beautiful ride you now have. It'd probably blow the doors off my Corvette."

"Okay, I'll give you that one," Kim replied. "I am grateful about that. So you're thinking about retiring from the League. What do you plan to do then?"

Daphne gave a weak smile, then said: "As you know, my team, the Mob Legends will be dissolved after this season. They said I could return to the Hanna-Barbera All-Stars next year, but with my numbers, I'd likely be a backup quarterback to Pebbles Flintstone. Now I consider Pebbles a friend, but I don't think I could play second fiddle to her. I like the power and control that being a starting quarterback brings. I figure I could join the coaching staff instead, or perhaps take a front office job or something." Daphne paused for a beat then continued: "Now let me give you some advice here. You're eighteen years old and have a long career ahead of you. But you need to keep in the back of your head that Disney is a dynamic organization. They're creating new characters and franchises all the time. Sooner or later, they're going to create the 'next big thing', and you'll be relegated to second or third string and cease to get any more meaningful playing time. Or one day, you'll be on a mission and Shego will get the drop on you. Or during a game, you'll be waiting for a pass, and some free safety is going to come along and snap your knees like peanut brittle, and that will be that. What I'm saying here, Kimberly Ann Possible, is that you need to live the moment. Enjoy the spotlight while you're basking in it. Because tomorrow will come a lot sooner than you think. And when it does, that calendar page will flip over and say, 'That's it. You can't be a first string player anymore.'"

"Oh, I will keep that in mind," Kim answered. "Look, it's almost time for pre-game meal. You want to come and share some spaghetti, pancakes, and scrambled eggs with me?"

"They feed you spaghetti and pancakes for pre-game?" Daphne said. "Yuck! No thanks! We get steak and eggs for our pre-game meal!"

The second match up between the Disney All-Stars and the Five's a Mob Legends was as different from the first one as day is from night. The two teams played each other tight until late in the third quarter when disaster struck once again. Ariel tried a 54-yard field goal attempt, which would have brought Disney to within one. The attempt was straight and true until at the last instant, it veered and hit the right upright. Then Mickey Mouse had a touchdown pass intercepted and returned for a 98-yard Legends touchdown. Kim had 130 receiving yards in that game (no touchdowns), but most of those yards came late in the game when it was too late to reverse the tide. Disney fell to defeat 44-16.

Mickey had little to say after the game. "I don't understand you people," he said in a resigned tone. "Why you can beat teams like Star Trek and the Smurfs and then lay an egg against teams you could beat easily is totally beyond my ability to comprehend anything."

It should be pointed out here that Mickey Mouse is not the head coach of the Disney All-Stars, though he appears to be one. Jiminy Cricket has that honor. But Mickey is Jiminy's mouthpiece, and is thus the de-facto coach of the team. And given the fact that Disney failed to make the playoffs in 2006, and is in danger of being left out of the playoffs again in 2007 has made both Jiminy and Mickey very concerned. Jiminy Cricket is fond of singing "When You Wish Upon A Star", but without victories, even wishing upon all the stars in the universe wasn't going to save this season. Jiminy even told Mickey that _he_ was thinking of retiring after the season ends. Jiminy's statement truly scared Mickey.

Mickey went back to his office and did some soul-searching. It appears that Disney can be divided into two camps, each its own little fiefdom onto itself. On one hand there was the classic Disney characters that appeared in the classic Disney short subjects and features; Mickey and Minnie Mouse, Donald Duck, Goofy, Pluto, Snow White, Cinderella, etc. On the other were characters that have appeared more recently, like those from recent Disney movies, Pixar, and the Disney Channel; Ariel, Jasmine, Buzz Lightyear, Kim Possible, Shego, Jack Sparrow, etc. On the surface, both camps seemed to function well as one cohesive unit, but there was a bit of rivalry between the two. The flare-up between Shego and Goofy, which grew to involve first Donald Duck and then Kim Possible, was a sign of this. There was a danger that this rivalry could become cracks, then a rift that could tear the entire team apart.

Mickey, while he was at it, decided to do some background checking on Shego, just out of curiosity. When they were little kids, Shego and her four brothers were sitting in their tree house when a multi-colored comet fell from the sky. Rather than killing the children outright, the comet gave these kids super powers, and thus became super-heroes, calling themselves "Team Go". Shego received the comet's green powers, which gave her the ability to use her powers to cut through any material known to man. Yet, there also was a flaw; the more Shego fought, the more evil she became, until she was evil all the time. She then teamed up with the bumbling mad scientist, Dr. Drakken, who enlisted her help in his wild schemes of world domination. Mickey then remembered something Kim had told him before the season began; Team Go had met up with a villain known as Electronique who zapped the heroes with a device called the "attitudinator", which causes a 180 degree reversal of one's attitude. Team Go had become evil, and Shego had become "good". While good, she had taken a job teaching at Middleton High School, and had even dated Steve Barkin! To make a long story short, after about two weeks, they had another encounter with Electronique, and everyone reverted back to "normal". Very interesting, Mickey thought. Then he turned his mind back to the task at hand. This team, especially the offense had got to start playing better, and soon, or this will turn into another lost season, whether he had an attitudinator or not!


	8. Highs and Lows

**HIGHS AND LOWS**

They say that victory cures a lot of ills, and in Week 10, the "Mouse" team traveled to Utah and beat the TV Ad All-Stars soundly, 47-10. KP had another good game, catching passes for 130 yards and two touchdowns, which made her very happy. Mickey was quite pleased, too, saying they had just played the best game start to finish of the season.

However, the era of good feelings did not last long. Returning home in Week 11, Disney took on the Fox All-Stars, and since this was the last home game before the opening of the latest Pirates of the Caribbean movie, Jack Sparrow was named honorary captain of the team. However, Fox made Disney walk the plank, handing the Mouse team a resounding 34-12 defeat, a game in which Kim had only 16 yards receiving; clearly the worst game of her career. Even though Mickey Mouse threw for more yards than Hank Hill (and most of those passes went to Minnie), Fox dominated the game in just about every other way.

Mickey, was to say the least, irate after the game. He praised Minnie, but as for the rest: "You all played like a bunch of zombies out there. Kim, you might as well not even shown up today." Kim, hearing that, hid her face in her hands. Mickey saw this, and regretted saying those words, and felt it best to pay her a visit after the post-game briefing.

When Mickey arrived at Kim's unit, he found the girl sitting on the edge of her sofa, beside herself. She had been crying. Kim's best friend, Monique had called, as well as Kim's mother; both wondered what was going on. In fact, Mrs. Possible had relayed this story: The family was watching the game on television when Kim's dad commented, "Kimmie-cub doesn't seem to have it today." Kim's younger brother, Timmy replied, "Yeah, she _sucks!"_ for which he got a good talking to by his mother. "You shouldn't say things like that about your own sister. You know she's doing the best she can," Mrs. Possible had told Timmy. That news set Kim into a crying fit.

Mickey sat beside Kim and put his hand on her shoulder. Before he could say a word, Kim began, "Mickey, please don't take what I'm about to say personally." She paused a beat, then continued, "I guess Fox doesn't like me. It was almost a year ago that they took that touchdown away from me, which almost caused me to quit the team. Since then, I worked my butt off, and what h-happens?" Kim felt the frustration and anger with herself welling up again. "S-sixteen yards!" she exclaimed in another burst of tears. "S-sixteen lousy y-yards! M-maybe the t-tweebs are right, I-I do s-so s-suck! Y-you was right, Mickey, I shouldn't have even shown up t-today!"

"No, you don't suck," Mickey told the redhead gently. "You just had a bad game. That happens. Everyone has an off day. And I'm sorry I said you shouldn't have even shown up. I was just stunned by what happened. You understand what I'm saying?"

"Y-yes, sir," Kim said.

"Good, Mickey replied. "You're a good wide receiver. You don't just lose that. Oh, and, when you compose yourself, come on over to the film room. I have something to show you."

At the film room, Mickey put on the tape of the day's game. It showed the Fox defenses swarming all over Kim, while leaving Minnie relatively open all afternoon.

"You see what I'm talking about, Kim?" Mickey asked. "If I threw into that kind of coverage, I would have been intercepted a lot more than I was. I'm surprised they ganged up on you like that. In fact Kim, there's a silver lining in all this."

"Huh?" Kim said surprised. What's the sitch?"

"Indeed," Mickey said. "The 'sitch' is when they gang up on you like that, that means they realize that you're a good wide receiver. It used to be that they only went after Minnie like that. I told you in pre-season, that you were going to take some of the heat off Minnie, which you did today. I guess Minnie needs to work on taking some of the heat off you."

"Oh, I see what you're saying now," Kim replied. "I feel so much better now."

"I'm happy to hear that," Mickey said. "Just remember, just keep working hard and doing the things you do, and good things will come to you." Kim left the film room, not entirely happy, but satisfied by Mickey's explanation.

The following weekend, a quirk in the schedule found Disney playing Fox again, this time at their place. Not only was the home fields reversed, so was the score, Disney pounding Fox 42-17. Kim got her game back on track, catching passes for 98 yards and one touchdown. In fact after Kim scored her touchdown, she spiked the ball with extra vigor, saying, "_Take that_ Fox! Hold me to sixteen yards, will you?" Mickey was happy with his team's performance, saying they had played textbook "road" football.


	9. Pomp and Circumstances

**POMP AND CIRCUMSTANCES**

While winning the second Fox game lifted everyone's spirits, Kim Possible faced the toughest two weeks of her young USCFL career. Not only did she have two tough opponents to face in as many weeks, she also had final exams and graduation to contend with. Study table that week was spent on reviewing material her and Ron studied that semester. The sessions were even longer than normal; lasting two and one-half hours, instead of the normal ninety minutes. Steve Barkin was as rough as ever on both her and Ron Stoppable. To say that both Kim and Ron were totally exhausted after each session (especially when they both had practice earlier in the day) was an understatement.

Thursday evening's study table promised to be another rough marathon session when Mr. Barkin abruptly brought things to a halt at 7:45 p.m. "That's it," he bellowed. "You two stay right here, I'll be right back." Kim and Ron looked at each other, puzzled. Barkin returned a few moments later with two white cardboard shirt boxes. "You two are going to a party in your honor tonight, and you're both going to wear gowns."

"Huh?" Ron asked, surprised. "Me wear a gown?"

"Look inside," Barkin replied. They did, but rather than ball gowns, they found a black academic gown for each of them, along with a one-size-fits-all cap and a golden yellow tassel. Kim also found an honor cord packed with her academic regalia.

"I wanted to see if your gowns fit you," Barkin said. "Oh, by the way, the gowns and honor cord are rentals and need to be returned after graduation. You get to keep your cap and tassel." He paused a beat, then continued, "Come on, your friends are waiting for you." Kim and Ron then went to the commons area where they found Mickey, Minnie and their teammates waiting for them. For the next two hours or so, the place rocked with music, dancing and reminiscing. Barkin had sent out for several pizzas, including a pie just for Rufus, Ron's naked mole rat pet. Kim and Ron told stories about high school life, along with tales of some of the missions they were on. Finally, at ten o'clock, Mickey brought things to a halt, saying it was time for everyone to go get some rest, since they had a game in Miami the next evening. But even as everyone left the commons area, Mr. Barkin had a few parting words for Kim and Ron.

"I've got a special assignment for you," he said. "You'd better win that game tomorrow night, or it's detention for you two."

"YES, SIR!" both said enthusiastically.

"That's what I wanted to hear," Barkin replied. "Good luck, and I'll see you back at Middleton High first thing Monday morning."

Kim and Ron did not have to serve detention, as the Disney won over the Five's A Mob Currents in the "Final Battle of Florida" 35-20, a game in which KP had 90 yards receiving offense.

The next morning, Kim and Ron set off for Middleton. As they piled schoolbooks, clothes, and such into Kim's Roth SL, Mickey Mouse came by to see them off.

"I know you're going to be busy with final exams, graduation, and such, but I want you to find time to work out on your own," Mickey told the teens. "You know, next Sunday, we got the Peanuts Gang in here, and that's going to be one of the toughest teams we'll face all season." He handed both a VHS tape. "I also want you to watch these tapes," he continued. "Oh, by the way, I want you back here by next Saturday afternoon. Good luck, and congratulations on your achievement."

"Thank you, Mickey," Kim called as she put her car in gear and drove off.

Thanks to the work Kim's brothers Jimmy and Timmy (the "tweebs") did to the car, it is super fast and she made the journey home in no time at all. Once there, the first thing her and Ron did (other than greeting their families) was to go the high school football field for an individual workout. That evening, they watched the tapes that Mickey gave them. From watching the tapes, it was obvious that Ron would get the assignment of covering Linus. One tape showed Peanuts Gang wide receiver Linus Van Pelt catching passes left and right. "Short of committing pass interference, you need to deny Linus the ball at all costs," Mickey's narration went. "I want you to be right in his face, not unlike stink on crap. Otherwise, he'll beat the tar out of us on pass receptions." Other parts of the tape showed Charlie Brown dropping back to pass. While not directly intended for Kim or Ron, both watched that part of the tape. From the narration it was apparent that both Snow White and Shego would have the honor of containing Charlie Brown. Kim had to giggle when Mickey told Shego on the tape: "I want you to pretend that Charlie here is really Kim Possible in disguise, and she's about to stop you from committing whatever villainy that you do." Kim's tape showed the various pass defenses the Peanuts Gang employed. Mickey's narration was full of instructions and reminders about how to beat that kind of defense.

Finals were as Kim would put it, "No big," as she breezed through her exams. Thursday night came, and Kim and Ron attended their graduation ceremony, which was rudely interrupted by an alien invasion by a race that called themselves the "Warlordians". During the ceremony, Kim was abducted by their leader, Warhok, and his female companion, Warmonga whom Kim had met (and fought) before. To make a long story short, Ron "stepped up" with his newly acquired "Mystical Monkey Power" and destroyed the Warlordian ship (and Warhok and Warmonga along with it) single-handily. Afterwards, Kim was like, "Okay, Ron saved us from the Warlordians, my house got destroyed, half of Middleton is in ruins, but I have my family, my friends, and Ron all in one piece, so I guess I can't really complain."

Friday, Kim and Ron finally took part in the commencement exercises. Despite exams, graduation, and the Warlordian invasion, she felt she had passed her rites-of-passage in fine shape. She was a little sad because high school was over, but, hey, one can't be a high school student forever! Her only concern that because of all that went on, her and Ron didn't practice as much as Mickey wanted them to. After the ceremony, there was a huge beach party for the graduating seniors. Kim and Ron attended this bash, then took off in the Roth SL for an all-night "necking" session before Kim set course for Orlando, arriving early the next morning.

Such fears that Kim Possible would be "rusty" after a week of missing practice was quickly disproved. The Peanuts Gang put up a good fight (Linus Van Pelt had 14 catches for 296 yards and two touchdowns), but Disney earned a tough but solid victory 67-53. KP caught 9 catches for 252 yards and 3 touchdowns, earning her second game MVP of her career. She also obtained a goal she set for herself by beating last year's total receiving yards with 1,620 versus 1,617 yards in 2006. Minnie Mouse had a good game as well, with 125 yards receiving on 5 catches. Buzz Lightyear led the Disney ground attack with 147 yards rushing on 43 carries.

The following weekend, Disney played the Justice League and won by a score of 47-24. This game was important because the win clinched Disney a playoff spot. Kim had another fairly good game with 77 yards receiving offense, bringing her up to 1,697 for the season. She scored another touchdown, giving her 15 for the season, as opposed to just seven in 2006.

The next Friday evening brought Disney's arch-foes, the Hanna-Barbera All-Stars to Epcot Stadium, and what happened can be best described as the Disney team walking into a "buzzsaw". HB jumped to a 17-0 lead before anyone realized what was happening. Disney never challenged in that game, HB just kept on building the lead. Mickey Mouse threw _nine_ interceptions in that game. Even Ariel, the Little Mermaid, was shaken; she missed one of two field goal attempts. The only bright spot was when Ron Stoppable returned a Pebbles Flintstone interception for a touchdown. Kim had a good game, catching passes good for 104 yards. Otherwise, it was a complete, unmitigated disaster as the HB team won 57-10. Needless to say, Mickey was more than a little unhappy with the result.

In Week 17, the "Mouse" team traveled to Indianapolis to take on the Classic Cartoon All-Stars. This time, Disney coasted to an easy 57-10 victory. Minnie Mouse had a great game, with 131 yards on 8 passes and two touchdowns. Kim was a little disappointed because she had only three passes for 29 yards (she was doubled and tripled teamed all day), but two of those passes resulted in crucial first downs that kept Disney's offensive drives going, so she really couldn't complain about that.

Disney closed out the regular season by visiting the Transformers in Tulsa the following weekend, where Disney handed Optimus Prime and Company a 31-6 defeat. It was a game where 24 of Disney's 31 points came off of Ariel field goals; the only touchdown Disney scored was a defensive one. The victory also gave Disney an 11-7 record going into post-season, winning six of their last seven. Kim had 142 yards receiving offense on 11 catches. For the regular season, KP ended up with 141 catches, good for 1,972 yards with 15 touchdowns. Minnie Mouse by comparison had 143 receptions worth 1,769 yards with five touchdowns. After the game, Mickey grabbed Kim and told her something she wouldn't ever forget: "All you need to do Kim is to get me to the Gold for the Gold game, and I'll win it." Later, when Kim told her friend Cinderella about what Mickey had said, she replied that Mickey's speech was a standard issue one he always uses going into post-season. However, this is the first time anyone could recall Mickey _ever_ saying those words to anyone but Minnie. Kim, needless to say, was extremely flattered to hear this.


	10. To the Playoffs We Will Go

**TO THE PLAYOFFS WE WILL GO…**

Disney opened post-season play by demolishing the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles at Epcot Stadium 79-49. Kim Possible had 127 yards receiving offense on 11 catches. No surprise there. But what was amazing is that she scored three touchdowns on _three consecutive possessions, _all coming late in the third quarter. Again, Mickey grabbed Kim after the game and repeated his speech of the week before: "You're the reason the reason we've come this far, Kim. You know you have one job and only one job, and that's to get me to Kansas City. I'll do the rest."

However, to make it to Kansas City, Disney had to clear a formable hurdle (or a mountain), the Hanna-Barbera All-Stars, a team that soundly thrashed the "Mouse" team the two times they met this season. Maybe the third time will be the charm, Mickey thought, but it'll take a perfect game to beat HB, especially since we're playing them at their place. While he was trying to figure out how he was going to beat HB, Mickey learned that the Modern Cartoon All-Stars had just defeated the Masters of Power on an 80-yard "Hail Mary" touchdown pass to Sonic the Hedgehog with no time remaining on the clock 16-13. "One hell of a way to lose a ball game," Mickey thought as he began to make game preparations. It was right then that he had an idea on how to contain HB quarterback Pebbles Flintstone.

Monday morning, before practice, he put his plan into motion by calling Dr. Drakken into his office.

"Okay, what I'd do now?" Drakken asked as he entered Mickey's office.

"Relax, Drakken," Mickey said. "You haven't done anything. Have a seat." Drakken seated himself. Mickey then continued, "Now it is common knowledge around here that you don't like Kim Possible very much, am I right?"

"Let's just say that me and Kim Possible don't exactly see eye to eye," Drakken replied. "Why do you ask?"

Mickey then said, "Okay, let me ask you this. Who does Pebbles Flintstone remind you of?"

Drakken thought for a moment, then quipped, "Why, she looks just like Kim Possible made up as a prehistoric teenager!"

Those were the words Mickey wanted to hear. "Now, Drakken, when we play Hanna-Barbera on Saturday, I want you to sack Kim …oh, uh, Pebbles every chance you get. I want you to pretend that Pebbles is Kim. Every time she drops back to pass, you must flush her out of the pocket and throw her for a loss. Think you can do that?"

"I think I can handle that," Drakken said, then added, "Pebbles may think she's all that, but she's not."

"That's the spirit," Mickey replied. "Just exactly what I wanted to hear. Now go get 'em." Mickey had wanted Shego to cover Pebbles, but as a linebacker, Shego doesn't get a chance to sack the quarterback very often. (She had six sacks in the 2007 regular season.) Drakken, on the other hand, plays defensive tackle, and is in a better position to go after quarterbacks. (In 2007, he had 22 QB sacks.) And like Shego, Drakken also had run-ins with Kim Possible, namely her breaking up his world domination schemes.

When Kim reported to practice that morning, she was told that instead of practicing pass routes, she was going to practice as a quarterback. She was elated to hear this until she discovered _why_ she was being asked to practice as a quarterback; just so Dr. Drakken could practice sacking _her!_ He took an almost sadistic pleasure in trying to sack Kim. Once when Drakken threw Kim for a loss, the red head got up and threw the ball in his face, which earned her a kick-out and a tongue-lashing by Mickey. Kim almost jumped for joy on Wednesday morning when Mickey told her she could resume practicing as a wide receiver.


	11. The Last Sitch

**THE LAST "SITCH"**

On Saturday evening, Disney traveled to Atlanta to play Hanna-Barbera in the second round playoff game. HB, having a first-round bye, had a two-week "off" period, and was relatively rested. Disney, on the other hand, played the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles the week before, and while winning easily, the game was emotionally and physically challenging, and didn't have the benefit of an "off" week. Mickey often wondered if Disney should have "saved" some of those 79 points they scored against the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles for Hanna-Barbera.

The game, as predicted, was tight most of the way. However Disney's mental "lapses" ultimately done them in this night. Twice, Disney reached HB's red zone, only to turn the ball over on interceptions. Still Disney took a 7-3 lead in the first quarter. HB kicked a field goal to narrow the lead to one, then took the lead for good on a Pebbles touchdown pass. Despite this, Disney stayed in the game until the fourth quarter, at which point HB pulled away. When it was over, HB won the game and the right to advance to the Atlantic Conference Championship game 57-35. KP had another good game with 12 receptions for 165 yards and one touchdown. However, the big surprise came after the game.

The first hint of this came at the two minute warning, when Kim came up to Mickey and said, "Mickey, me and Ron really need to talk to you after the game. My parents are here at the game, and my dad needs to be in on this conversation as well."

Mickey replied, "Fine. We'll send someone for him." So while the final two minutes of the game (and Disney's season) was being played out, an usher found Dr. James Timothy Possible, Kim's dad, and escorted him to a small conference room just off the visitor's locker room. While this was going on, Mickey had Jiminy Cricket deliver the post-game comments to the team. The players wondered why Mickey wasn't giving a post-game talk. And where were Kim Possible and Ron Stoppable?

The answer was that they were but a few feet away in the conference room. Mickey knew that Kim and Ron was going to talk about college. Kim started out by handing Mickey the acceptance letters she got from four schools she applied to.

"You know I so seriously considered deferring going to college so I could get another year of football under my belt, but, uh, Dad here forbid me from doing that."

"Dr. Possible," Mickey said, "Kim here is eighteen years old. She's technically an adult, so I think she's entitled to make her own decisions, don't you think?"

"I can appreciate that," Dr. Possible replied. "And I really am proud of what my Kimmie-cub here has accomplished playing for your team. I really want her to continue playing football for you, but her education must come first. Technically, she's still living under _my_ roof, and therefore subject to _my_ rules, and I want her to get into college as soon as possible. Ron's parents feel exactly the same way I do." Ron nodded affirmatively to that last statement.

"I see," Mickey said. "Kim, what are your thoughts on this?"

"Then I thought about taking my fall semester courses on-campus and my spring semester classes online, but three of the schools that accepted me don't offer online courses," Kim told Mickey. She handed the Mouse another group of letters, then continued, "And the fourth recommended that I don't do college coursework online. Then I thought about being held out of games until after school lets out for the summer, right around Mother's Day, then coming back and playing the remainder of the season. Could I do it that way, Mickey?"

Mickey didn't answer her right away, as he continued to read the stack of letters she gave him. When he did answer, he responded, "I'm sorry Kim, but League rules expressly prohibit the use of part-time players, which is what you would become. And I'll tell you why: Suppose Minnie was my wide receiver in your absence. She plays up until week 10 of the season, helping us win some big games along the way. Then about Mother's Day, I have to tell her that she'll have to sit on the bench the rest of the season so you could take over your starting position. Minnie has gone through camp and played about 10 games, and you haven't practiced or played a single down all spring. Now, would that be fair to her? And as for you, by the time you returned to our team, you wouldn't have a clue as to our offensive schemes, and by the time we'd bring you up to speed, the season would be over. I know you'd work out and play pickup games on your own, but you'd be so out of shape and condition by the time we got you back that it wouldn't even be funny. Now, would that be fair to you?"

"I guess not," Kim said. Then she paused a beat before delivering the words she almost choked on: "T-then I-I guess w-we'll h-have to ask to be r-released from y-your team, M-mickey…"

Mickey knew the words were coming, but when they came, they left him speechless. While he was trying to regain his composure, Dr. Possible chimed in, "Mickey, I know this is shocking news to you, but I'm only trying to look out for the best interests of my daughter here. I'll tell you a story that will best illustrate my point. I played football in college as a tight end. We had this quarterback, one that was an excellent passer and ran the option well. He had great NFL potential, until one day, he was dropping back to pass and got hit by this linesman. He was left in a heap on the field; the hit tore up his knee so bad he never played a down of football after that. Luckily, he got his degree, and so he became an aerospace engineer that now works for a major defense contractor. I just want my Kimmie-cub to have something she can fall back on besides football. I dread that someday, Kim is going to get hit by someone in the secondary and tear up her knee so bad she wouldn't be able to play football again, and without anything to fall back on, there she'll be."

Mickey pondered for a moment. Then he said, "Kim, Ron, I want you to know that I really appreciate everything you've done for us while you've been here. I really hate seeing you go, but I also believe that getting an education is important, especially in today's world. I could release you from our team, but if and when you ever decide to return, you'd have to start from scratch. Therefore, I will _not_ grant you your releases. Rather, I will place you on an _'inactive status', _meaning that you remain on the roster, keeping your numbers and all, just that you won't be playing for us while you're both in college. But I also want you to know that whenever your college careers are finished and you decide to return to us, your starting positions can not be guaranteed. In other words, you'll both have to earn back your starting jobs. Do you understand me?"

"Yes, sir!" Kim and Ron said in unison.

"Good," Mickey replied. "You two better hit the showers and turn in, because when we get back to Orlando tomorrow, you'll have a lot of packing to do. Good night."

"Good night, Mickey," the two teens said, and exited the room.

After everyone left the conference room, Mickey called Jiminy who was just finishing up his post-game talk. When told the news, Jiminy, who is fond of singing about wishing upon stars or singing the praises of books, reacted quite strongly: "WHAT? YOU'VE GOT TO BE KIDDING ME!"

As the players retired for the night, they had no idea what was going on, though they suspected something was up. Why wasn't Mickey, Kim, or Ron with them in the locker room? Finally the next morning, before the team left for the airport to return to Orlando, Mickey called a meeting and informed everyone of the news. Everyone was surprised. Minnie broke into tears. Shego's reaction was more direct: "Are you crazy, Kimmie? Why are you giving up such a brilliant career just to go to college? Do you realize how hard some of us worked just to get a spot on this team, especially a starting spot? I ought to zap some sense into you right here and now!" Mulan had to intervene to prevent Shego from carrying through on her threat.

When the two got back to their units at Disney World, they started packing their things for the return to Middleton. Only thing was, the phone rang off the hook from the moment they stepped in the door. Usually, it was the press asking for some comments. Kim and Ron's leaving the Disney team was big news, ranking right up there with a certain Atlanta Falcons player who staged illegal dog fights, an NBA official who gambled on games he officiated, even Barry Bond's pursuit of Henry Aaron's home run record. Kim gave all the reporters who called a standard reply: "No comment." However, there were those who called who weren't reporters. In the course of two hours, She-Ra, April O'Neil, the Smurfette, Daphne Blake, Velma Dinkley, Kimberly Hart, even Lisa Simpson called, asking the same thing. Kim told them, "Me and Ron are leaving the team so we can attend college. Anything wrong with that?" Even Bonnie Rockwaller, Kim's "friend" from high school called: "I'll be more than happy to take over your spot as Disney's wide receiver, Kim!" Kim had to giggle at that notion; "Bon-Bon" wouldn't last two minutes out there!

Despite all the interruptions, packing went pretty fast (they didn't have all that much to pack), and so the next morning, the two teens set out for home. But before they did, Mickey had the two take part in one more four-on-four scrimmage, "for old time's sake". On the last play, Mickey dropped back to pass when Shego nailed him just as he released the ball. He never saw where the ball went to, but Kim caught the pass and took off like a rocket, untouched into the endzone for a touchdown. A most fitting end to her career as a Disney All-Star, Kim thought.

After the scrimmage, Mickey asked Kim to see him privately. Probably to wish me good-bye, she thought. However, Mickey had more than good-bye on his mind.

"Listen, Kim, I was thinking," Mickey began. "You know, Oswald, or whoever we get to replace you will need a lot of work to bring him or her into our system. How about when school lets out for the summer, you come here and become a 'summer assistant coach' for us, helping coach the wide receivers and tight ends? And while you're here, I could use an office assistant, answering my phone calls, electronic and 'snail' mail, make coffee, and just helping out around my office. What do you say to that?"

"I'd be SO honored, Mickey," Kim replied.

"It's settled, then," Mickey said. "See you next May, and good luck on your studies. And you'd better get straight A's or I'm going to hunt you down and chew your butt out!"

"I will, Mickey," Kim told him. "Good-bye and thanks for everything!"

Moments later, Kim and Ron had the last thing loaded into the Roth SL and were preparing to leave. Ron was going to drive the first leg of the trip home. Kim took one last look around the place she called home the better part of eighteen months. "Lord, I'm going to miss this place," she sighed. Right about then, several of the Disney Princesses passed by returning from a workout at the gym. They saw the two preparing to leave, and they broke into a chorus of, "GOOD-BYE, KIM!" "SEE YOU!" "WE'LL MISS YOU AROUND HERE!" "GOOD LUCK!" And so on. Kim stuck her head out the window and called to them: "WE'LL BE BACK! I WILL SOOO RETURN!" After they passed on, Kim turned to Ron and said, "Take us home, Ronald. Get us out of here before I start crying." And with that, Ron put the Roth into gear, and begun the long trek to Middleton.


	12. Epilogue

**EPILOGUE**

In the two years Kim Possible spent with the Walt Disney All-Stars, she had nothing short of amazing statistics for a "secondary" wide receiver. In the 38 games she played in, she racked up 279 receptions good for 3,881 yards, and 26 touchdowns. In other words, she averaged about 7.4 catches for 102.1 yards per game, or about 13.8 yards per catch. She also averaged about one touchdown per six quarters of play. Ron Stoppable also had excellent stats in his year as a free safety. In the 20 games he played, he racked up 145 tackles, 10 interceptions, and two defensive touchdowns.

Kim, while sad she will not be playing football for Disney anytime in the foreseeable future, feels that her summer internship with the team will help contribute to the team's efforts. And she has amassed a collection of tales in her time with the team to regal her family and friends with; "war stories" she calls them. Among her "classics"; "Shego and the Dropkick Pass Reception", "Kim Possible and the Push-up Fetish", "Kim Possible, the Latin Drummer and the Innocent Wink", "Kim Possible, The 'Stolen' Touchdown, and the Secret Miami Trek", "Kim Possible and the Great Disney Princess Movie Caper", "Kim Possible, Donald Duck, and the Great Shego Fight" among others.

Asked if her time with the Disney was worth it, she says without hesitation, "Absolutely. I've wouldn't have missed it for the world!" She shared in the good times as well as the not-so good times. She's endured all the screaming, cursing, fighting, kick-outs, blood, sweat, and tears and managed to emerge from it smelling like a rose. She had not only made herself a great player, but made all those around her better as well.

Dr. James Timothy Possible is fond of telling his "Kimmie-cub" daughter, "Anything's possible for a Possible." And Kimberly Ann Possible vows to return to the Disney team someday to make the impossible possible.

_Postscript: Mickey Mouse was able to persuade Kim Possible to return to the Disney All-Stars for the 2008 season. And she is making the most of it. As of this writing she has surpassed 5,000 career yards, and has nearly 2,300 yards for the season with ten touchdowns. Ron Stoppable returned to the team as well as a free safety, only this time as a reserve player. (Kronk of the Emperor's New School took over his starting position. And there are discussions to bring teen icon Hannah Montana aboard in 2009.) Despite Kim's outstanding statistics in 2008, Disney is having a not-so-hot season and is in danger of being left out of the playoffs. Still, win or lose, Kim is happy to be representing one of the world's most admired family entertainment companies. She is already looking forward to 2009 to make the impossible possible once again. _

**SO THE END!**


End file.
